HIV&AIDS Policy Response In Nigeria

There has been an increased donor funding for HIV&AIDS through support to new national AIDS response strategies. The Department for International Development (DFID) of the British government and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) are the major donors currently supporting projects like Strengthening the Nigerian Response to HIV&AIDS (SNR), ENHANSE, Community Participation for Action in Social Sectors (COMPASS), Global HIV&AIDS Initiative In Nigeria (GHAIN), Promoting Sexual and Reproductive Health for HIV&AIDS Reduction (PSRHH) etc. These programmes are designed to complement the Nigerian government?s efforts and response in mitigating the impact of HIV&AIDS through improving enabling environment, strengthening the effectiveness of NACA and SACA, and supporting the social sector response to HIV and AIDS. In the area of policy and advocacy, the review findings indicate that Nigeria is very rich in policies having about 10 different policies developed to support response to HIV&AIDS, reproductive health and other development initiatives. However, the major challenges around the policies include lack of widespread knowledge and usage of policies, gaps in policy development in some areas and the inability of most policies to address the gender dimensions of the HIV & AIDS epidemic . For monitoring and evaluation, the review identified the development and launch of the Nigeria National Response Information Management System (NNRIMS) as a key achievement in Nigeria. However, given that NNRIMS was based on the HEAP, there is urgent need to revise it to incorporate monitoring of all the thematic areas of the new National strategic framework.

Abstinence and Delayed Sexual Debut Among Nigerian Youth

The main objective of this study was to investigate youths? views on sex, abstinence and de?laying sexual debut in the view of developing a campaign to encourage youth to abstain and/or delay sexual debut. The broad objective of promoting abstinence was to reduce inci?dences of HIV infection as well as unwanted pregnancies. (A ?condom? campaign is also scheduled to run concurrently with the abstinence campaign as we have acknowledged that abstinence only campaigns do not work). In addition, participants? views on the role of friends, parents, the media and religion in encouraging or discouraging sexual activity were also investigated. Other issues related to sex and abstinence were also probed into........ ?You avoid sex by watching the kind of friends you move with. Some boys and girls are way-ward. If you move with such, you will become like them. So watch the kind of friends you keep so that will not be deceived.? ??When you stay outside your corridor and you see like four people in the morning, five in the afternoon, evening twenty, there is no way you wont feel like having sex with the kind of dresses they wear these days??.

Who Developed the PEP Model ?

A core team that comprised a cross section of the implementing agencies; Population Services International, Society for Family Health and ActionAid International Nigeria was set up. It was responsible for designing, tracking and documenting the model of programme implementation. The trans-disciplinary team of social scientists and public health professionals was also responsible for characterising the tools and methodology for the various components of the model. More about the organizations and the project:

Assessing Behaviour Change Maintenance among HIV Risk Groups in Nigeria

Interventions on HIV risk behaviour reduction often only aim at behaviour change. Very few include behaviour maintenance as a programme objective even though evidence shows that there is relapse in behaviour when intervention stops. In view of this, a key component of the PSRHH community level intervention was the need for continued ?boosting? of interventions among communities that have already initiated some risk-reduction behavioural change. Effort must be made to sustain changed behaviour and prevent return to unsafe sexual behaviour at the community level. Behaviour maintenance is also important for another reason. The length of time that changed behaviour is maintained significantly determines the cost effectiveness of implementing preventive interventions

Invitation to Event

The Managing Partners of The Promoting Sexual & Reproductive Health for HIV/AIDS Reduction (PSRHH) invites the general public to their end of programme events.

Special Guest Of Honour
Her Excellency, Hajia Turai Umar Yar'Adua, First Lady Of Nigeria

Date: Tuesday, 18th November 2008:Time: 8:00am-4Pm
Date: Wed. 19th November 2008: Time: 8:00am-2Pm